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Canyon goes all in with road discs and are Coming to America

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canyon-road-disc_disc-brake-road-bike-updates_aeroad-cf-slx-disc_riding

We’ve seen a lot of road bikes with disc brakes from Canyon over the past year or two. Their Ultimate CF SLX Disc all purpose racer and slippery Aeroad CF SLX Disc race bike both got official at Eurobike. And the disc brake-only all road Endurace CF SLX debuted back in summer. But Canyon had been teasing production disc brake road bikes as far back as Eurobike 2012, and with prototypes another six years before that.

Now the industry has caught up and Canyon is all in with road discs for 2017, offering each of their top road bikes with disc brakes. It’s not only their top CF SLX (the lightest carbon frames they offer) that come packing discs, but also the more affordable carbon CF SLs that start around 2000€. Oh, and they’re headed to the USA…

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all images courtesy Canyon

Each bike got a full design overhaul as they moved away from rim brakes, with new frame and fork designs that in almost all cases allowed for more comfort in the rear with thinned down seatstays, and the added benefits of lower rolling resistance and more comfort with larger tires.

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The new disc Ultimate & Endurace bikes can fit up to a real 33mm width tire at both ends. The Aeroad is a bit tighter at about a 28mm tire, but all of the disc brake complete bikes come built with at minimum 17mm internal width rims where even 25mm tires end up wide and plush.

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Canyon says the move to discs across the board has improved control through better braking paired with wider tire contact patches. But the extra room around the stays also gave them more options for improving aerodynamics at all levels and for all types of riding. With more space, Canyon had more freedom to look at alternative rim shapes and tire combos to lower drag on all of their bikes.

canyon-road-disc_disc-brake-road-bike-updates_shimano-dura-ace-r9100-crankset canyon-road-disc_disc-brake-road-bike-updates_dt-swiss-erc-1100-carbon-wheels

The top 5800€ Endurace CF SLX 9.0 Disc is a good example, as the new Dura-Ace R9100 hydraulic equipped bike (R9120 for those keeping count, and the mechanical + hydraulic combo I am personally most looking forward to try out at the start of 2017) is one of the first to include DT Swiss’ latest Aero+ ERC 1100 wheels that we previewed just a couple of weeks ago. Aero gains on an all-road endurance bike were a bit unheard of year or two ago, but now seem to be all the rage for the broad type or riding that the average road cyclists actually does.

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Canyon tested their new disc brake bikes in the wind tunnel back-to-back with their rim brake counterparts. They saw ~1.5% increase in drag, which they say is mostly accounted for by wheels with more crossed spokes & larger hubs. Canyon says that is a relatively minor impact over the entire rider+bike, and feels the performance & control gains clearly balance out such minor drag differences for the average cyclist.

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All of Canyon’s new road disc bikes share some tech, like 12mm thru-axles front & rear, low-profile flat mount disc calipers, and for the most part 160mm discs. (XXS frames apparently got to 140mm rotors to fit their tiny rear triangles.) But with flat mounts all of their frames & forks are compatible with 140mm rotors for those riders who feel the need.

canyon-road-disc_disc-brake-road-bike-updates_uultimate-cf-slx-disc-8-di2 canyon-road-disc_disc-brake-road-bike-updates_endurace-cf-slx-disc-8-di2-wmn

The 2017 bikes are all updated in Canyon’s webshop, with availability of many of the Ultimates & Enduraces now. These same bikes’ framesets wait until the end of January or even March depending on sizing, with some of the mid-spec bikes getting similar delivery dates. The Aeroad looks like earliest delivery for the end of January 2017, with frames or the top-end spec even a bit later.

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The top builds with new Dura-Ace R9100 also look like they won’t be ready to ship until at least June, which means you’ll still have to wait to get ahold of those new DT wheels as well. And as for exact dates of landing in the USA, which spec will make it stateside & $USD pricing, we’ve been told that we’ll learn more in January. But clearly everything is in motion, and the US website should be up soon after the new year.

Canyon.com

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David G
David G
7 years ago

Gosh dang it Canyon stop teasing us and get your US site up already. Ultimate CF SLX Disc + Shimano R9170. I’ve been saving my pennies. June…or later can’t come soon enough.

Bas
Bas
7 years ago

think they wait for the dollar to go up a little more…

dustytires
7 years ago

Tyler, can you find out when the Canyon USA operation is scheduled to open? maybe tour the warehouse?! There is not another bike I can find on the market that tics as many boxes as the Endurace SLX for my assumed wants in a new ‘road’ bike, as long as I can get a frame set and build it Red!

Joe
Joe
7 years ago
Reply to  dustytires

Patience. I’m sure their trying to get as much info as possible.

“And as for exact dates of landing in the USA, which spec will make it stateside & $USD pricing, we’ve been told that we’ll learn more in January. But clearly everything is in motion, and the US website should be up soon after the new year.”

Dave
Dave
7 years ago

I do laugh though that so many people are willing to throw down so much money on a bike or bikes they never have even had an opportunity to throw a leg over.

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
7 years ago
Reply to  Dave

C’mon man! Just call up a neighbor who has ZWIFT and you can test most of Canyon’s road line. Sheesh!

anonymous
anonymous
7 years ago
Reply to  Dave

The selling point of Canyon is they don’t cost that much money for what you get. And test rides are overrated anyways, because the bike won’t be dialed into your fit with the right stem length, spacer stack, saddle, fit etc. And half the differences in ride quality will come from the tires and inflation pressure of the bike.

Unless you’re saying when you go to a bike shop, you have them do a full fit to your specs, swap out the saddle, mount your wheelset inflated to your weight and preferences?

You don’t do that? Then why are you doing a test ride again?

myke2241
myke2241
7 years ago
Reply to  anonymous

Test rides are never overrated. It may your personal preference but most people want to throw their leg over the tt and give a few strokes. It’s not perfect but getting a general fit is fast and gives a idea of feel and what to expect.

Btw does this look kind of like a BMC roadmaster copy or is it just me…

Dave
Dave
7 years ago
Reply to  anonymous

Actually i have made it a point to do that and for those services I give the shop my business without asking for some crazy discount. I also try to make it a point to go to different demo events on bikes I might be considering.

But buying a bike because they do a slick job at marketing is just, well stupid.

anonymous
anonymous
7 years ago
Reply to  Dave

@myke2241
Test rides really are overrated. What does throwing a leg over a bike tell you about a bike unless you realize there’s some glaring flaw like heel strike, toe overlap, or lack of stand over. It doesn’t actually do much to tell you how a bike rides or anything people claim it does.

@Dave
Sure you do.

Dave
Dave
7 years ago
Reply to  anonymous

@Myke2241. Actually I do and I support shops that are willing to have demo bikes or hold demo events. So you continue to be someone completely swayed by marketing and buying online for a few dollars less and I will continue to support my local businesses that in turn support their local community with jobs and dollars that stay local.

blah blah blah
blah blah blah
7 years ago
Reply to  Dave

test ride are only good to gauge whether or not you think your going to look badass enough on said machine.I test rode a bike liked it so i bought it, rode hated it ,kept hating, now i love it best bike i’ve ever owned, so go figure?!

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
7 years ago

Too bad their Ulitimate disc frame sets only come in boring black or grim grey.

souleur
7 years ago

So….canyon is now coming to the US…..
how many times have I heard that one
I gave up so long ago…..well, because there are so many others that are better and will be there when I call
sorry, i am unimpressed

Pat
Pat
7 years ago

As of a few months ago. One of the hold ups was that Canyon Bicycles (local shop) here in Utah has to change their name before Canyon comes in and can sell in this state. So far there has been at least one offer made by Canyon to the shop for their name.

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